A new analysis by the Climate Accountability Institute (CAI), has shown that the oil pipeline under construction in east Africa will produce vast amounts of carbon dioxide and result in 379m tonnes of climate-heating pollution.
The East African crude oil pipeline (EACOP) is expected to transport oil drilling in a biodiverse national park in Uganda more than 870 miles to a port in Tanzania for export.
According to reports, the main backers of the multibillion-dollar project are the French oil company Total Energies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).
Although environmental assessments by the EACOP consortium were approved by the host governments, only the construction and operation of the pipeline were considered.
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The new analysis found that construction and operation contributed only 1.8% of the full emissions of the project when taking into account overseas transport, refining and burning of the 848m barrels of oil by end users.
The analysis also considered the 25-year lifespan of the project and refining in Europe and China and found that in the years of peak oil flow, the associated emissions would be more than double those of Uganda and Tanzania in 2020.
Responding, Richard Heede who works at CAI, said: “It is time for TotalEnergies to abandon the monstrous EACOP that promises to worsen the climate crisis, waste billions of dollars that could be used for good, bring mayhem to human settlements and wildlife along the pipeline’s path.”
Coordinator of the Stop EACOP campaign, Omar Elmawi said, “EACOP and the associated oilfields in Uganda are a climate bomb that is being camouflaged us as an economic enabler to Uganda and Tanzania. It is for the benefit of people, nature and climate to stop this project.”
TotalEnergies said that, as a pipeline project, “EACOP is neither the legal owner of the oil nor is it the ultimate end user”. It said environmental assessments followed national regulations and that an updated analysis, including oil use, had been performed, but did not provide details.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
